Personal safety has become of utmost is the upmost concern in today's society. Unfortunately, there is an ever growing risk of abductions and kidnaping. The location of lost and missing persons, elderly individuals, persons with decreased memory capacity such as Alzheimers patients, or persons in danger or in emergency situations has become a major national problem. The advent of wireless devices for personal communication, such as cellular telephones, has helped lessen this problem. However, communication with these devices can typically only be initiated by the individual carrying the device. It is often desirable for concerned persons to be able to find the location of another person who may not be carrying a cellular phone. For example, a concerned parent may wish to know the location of a lost child or perhaps a lost family member with a medical condition such as Alzheimer's disease. Children subject to custody battles are often abducted and need to be located. Alzheimer's patients who wander away from locations without the ability to find their way home need to be located.
GPS tracking systems have become increasingly popular for navigation of airplanes, ships, boats, automobiles, and other objects. The GPS tracking systems, which navigate off of fixed satellites, are often used in automatic control systems for controlling the guidance of airplanes, ships, boats, and the like.
Heretofore, various personal alarms have been provided which utilize GPS tracking systems in the event of an assault, medical emergency, or any other intrusive wrongdoing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,619 discloses a GPS personal alarm using GPS technology and cellular phone technology to transmit the users longitudinal and latitudinal position to a monitoring station which relays the users position to the proper authorities. The system employs an unique housing structure and plunger extending through the housing structure which triggers the alarm, among other things, to cause a position signal to be emitted.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,233 discloses a signaling system which comprises a portable signaling unit, a remote alarm switch device, a central dispatch station, and a wireless communication system such as a cellular telephone, and a GPS tracking system. The remote alarm switch device is provided by a bracelet worn by the person. The signaling unit is also worn by the person. If the bracelet becomes removed from the person, the signaling unit is activated. The system uses a rechargeable lithium battery as a power source.
Various other GPS tracking systems for personal use are noted in the above two patents. However, a problem exists in there prior art devices because of the power required by portable devices. Even in the case of a rechargeable lithium battery, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,233 above, there is a chance that the power source may be low when an alarm signal is needed from the device. The prior art devices have tended to be relatively complicated and power hungry.
The previous GPS devices have been designed to be initiated by the individual carrying the positioning device and not a remote user requesting the location of the individual. Neither are the systems capable or designed to handle a large number of concurrent tracking requests as they are primarily designed to notify emergency authorities such as police or 911 operators.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,619 provides for a personal alarm system in the event of an emergency where the wearer initiates an emergency signal. In the event of an emergency the wearer pulls a pin and the unit makes a cellular call to a monitoring station and transmits the position of the unit. The monitoring station sends the information to the proper authorities such as emergency personnel.
The devices shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,914,675 and 5,742,233 also can transmit GPS information in response to an emergency trigger initiated by the wearer. Once initiated, the device transmits a distress signal for detection by rescue teams.
The device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,907, again, will collect and transmit the global position of an individual to emergency services or another location once an emergency button has been activated in the device. This device will also periodically transmit GPS information to a database for later retrieval. Again, the tracking process is initiated by the unit.
The cellular switching system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,147 is a telephone switching system which is responsive to an emergency call from a cellular phone user. The particular cellular phone has the capability to transmit geo-position information to the switching system which can be forwarded to emergency authorities.
Thus, while the prior art has provided devices to allow one to determine their present geographical location, and has provided personal devices which may be triggered by a person to send a signal containing his location to a public service entity, the prior art has not provided a tracking system which allows initiating and determining a person's position by a concerned person from a remote location. In particular, a system which does not rely upon an individual to initiate a distress signal.
Moreover, the prior art has not provided a satisfactory personal tracking system which allows for the concurrent use by a large number of remote concerned persons to track a large number of individuals. Such a need exists to allow remote lay personnel such as parents, relatives, or other concerned parties to determine the position of children, the elderly, and Alzheimer's patients, etc., without relying upon official authorities.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a tracking system initiated by a concerned user to determine the geographic position of an individual.
Another object of this invention is to track an individual from a remote location without alerting the individual, or others who may be holding the person captive.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a tracking system allowing a multitude of remote users to concurrently track a multitude of individuals.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a personal tracking system using a web host connected to the Internet to allow a vast multitude of concerned users to track individuals concurrently.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a personal location unit employing a wireless communication and GPS system which is simplified and reliable for use in a remotely activated tracking system.
Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and reliable location unit which automatically answers an inquiry and transmits a position signal without an audio component thus requiring low power.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a simplified and reliable personal emergency location unit employing wireless and GPS technology wherein a back-up battery source is provided having a shelf life which is sufficient to power the device for a single emergency signal in the case of an emergency.